A former New York lacrosse coach faces criminal charges after police say he used Snapchat to blackmail teen boys into sending explicit pictures of themselves and their friends.
Joseph Garofalo, 20, has pleaded not guilty to sexually exploiting children charges that were filed in April, PEOPLE reported. An investigation was launched after the mother of one of Garofalo's alleged teenage victims called the FBI in October 2024.
The outlet cited court documents in the case in describing Garofalo's interactions with a 13-year-old. In that instance, the teen sent pictures and videos of himself to Garofalo and then reached out later asking if the pictures had been deleted. PEOPLE reported that, according to the court documents, Garofalo threatened to make the images unless he "sent more naked photos or sent explicit photos of his friends."
Garofalo worked as a Valley Stream High School assistant boys lacrosse coach, the New York Post reported. He is no longer employed by the school district and no Valley Stream students are among his alleged victims.
In another message to the 13-year-old, Garofalo allegedly wrote "So I'm not gonna delete them for a guy that blocked me unless he gives me a good reason to," the New York Post reported. "Send stuff of ur boys naked n I'll delete."
PEOPLE reported that after his arrest, Garofalo allegedly told the FBI that he was addicted to this type of behavior, had been doing it since he was 15, and that he always targeted kids aged 12 to 16 years old.
Authorities believe there were at least 30 victims based on searches of four phones, PEOPLE reported.
